Chapter 3 – A Three for One Trial
"A-Are we really going to do this?" Tsumiki asked. We had all gathered at Monokuma rock, looking at the escalator that suddenly appeared out of its rock sculpted behind… how can he be like this? Nekomaru Nidai dies… and Monokuma just treats this all like a joke!
"We have to." Togami answered. "Otherwise we all get executed."
"Well the killer is obvious!" Soda said. "We just vote Hanamura and get this over with!"
"N-N-No! D-Don't do that! I was framed I tell you! Framed!" Hanamura said in defence.
"That is the story he's been going with this whole time." Togami said.
"Do you have proof?" Tsuki asked.
"Proof?" Soda said.
"Yeah, proof." Tsuki confirmed. "You all investigated… and a lot of stuff happened tonight. If you're going to accuse Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook, of literally killing someone… I hope you have proof. That's a grave accusation."
"Call me chief." Hanamura said bitterly.
"I do too." Togami said while ignoring Hanamura. "There was too much to investigate for me to figure out everything alone… so unfortunately I'm going to have to rely on you guys." He then gave me a gaze… was he referring to me? The guy who doesn't even remember his talent?
"No! You can't do this!" Monomi exclaimed. "Please… no more class trials. Not after everything you've all been through… we can't do this all again."
"Can I ask what you mean by that?" Sonia said. "I have heard similar words countless times from both you and Monokuma… are you implying a similar event has occurred?" Monomi just hid her face in silence.
"It might have." Chiaki confirmed.
"What?! Something this fucked up has happened before!?" Kuzuryū shouted.
"Didn't you say this was normal life for you?" Koizumi asked.
"W-Well…" Kuzuryū stuttered.
"We can discuss that afterwards. For now, we need to focus on the trial." Togami ordered.
"But you did threaten to kill before, that is a problem." Sato countered.
"Shut up! I don't plan on getting killed or killing anyone anymore!" Kuzuryū said.
"So you are no longer threatening to kill anyone?" Pekoyama questioned.
"I don't know! Just leave it!" Kuzuryū shouted yet again.
"Get moving runts!" Monokuma shouted from atop the escalator. "Or I'll execute you all!"
"I have no intention of going up that demon's ejection hole." Tanaka said.
"Yeah, what he said! Clearly the guy controlling that robot is a pervert!" Saionji said.
"Or girl." Togami said. "Appearances can be deceiving… anyone can be male or female behind that robot."
"OI MORONS! GET THE HELL UP HERE!" Monokuma shouted even louder.
"I'll go first then." Tsuki offered before stepping up to the escalator.
"H-Hold on… how is your arm?" Koizumi asked.
"I don't need assistance. My body heals quickly and Tsumiki works magic…" Tsuki said before taking off the left half of his bloodied dark blue jacket revealing the bandages on his right arm from the large cut. He raised the arm, revealing it for everyone to see before pointing at the rock Monokuma. "A cut like this is no problem, let's focus on the trial for now. But it was nice of you to be concerned." And then he jumped on the escalator first, slowly getting farer away from us.
"Hey! I didn't mean it like that!" Koizumi said but Tsuki feigned ignorance causing her to become frustrated. "Ugh! How rude!" She then got on the escalator.
"Tsuki wait! You shouldn't wave your arm like that, it could re-open the wound!" Tsumiki called before following. Togami then shoved Hanamura onto the escalator as well.
"This isn't too bad, maybe stone is as good as skin." Hanamura commented.
"Well I just can't back out now!" Owari shouted before jumping on.
"We must stick together if we are to get through this, I don't believe any of us killed one another." Sonia said as she followed.
"Man, how annoying. But if Miss Sonia is going then I guess I have to as well." Soda said before getting on the escalator as well.
"I'll go ahead." Pekoyama simply put as she followed. Kuzuryū just groaned before heading on up.
"This was a game… I never wanted to play." Chiaki said as she stepped on the escalator.
"To think someone would commit murder among us… *guh*." Sato spat before following.
"Ibuki will join everyone." Ibuki said.
"I'm going to bop that bear on the head next time I see him." Saionji threatened as she carried on.
"Now that I have constructed a magical ward, I can carry on to destroy this demon." Tanaka said as he too took a step on the escalator.
"Amazing how everyone can be so hopeful at such a despairful situation!" Komaeda announced before heading on up.
Tsuki's little performance had somehow convinced everyone to get on there, was that his intention? Those left was just me and Togami.
"You better have done a proper investigation Hinata." Togami said.
"Why are you relying on me?"
"Not relying, this will just be a lot harder if I'm on my own. The problem with most of the others is that they think they know the killer. Anyone who has looked at this case for more than five seconds can tell that this is more complicated than it looks, so you are going to get this trial along while I figure out how to incriminate the killer." Togami explained.
"So… you know who the killer is?"
"No… but I will figure it out. But I want you to know this, during my investigation I was unable to investigate the main room in which the fight occurred, so you are going to explain it for me." Togami said before heading on the escalator. Why is he relying on me to do that…? I know I didn't have enough time to investigate everything either so it makes sense, but why me? I should be careful though, just in case.
As Togami entered Monokuma Rock I tried to follow but then…
BANG
I fell to the floor, clutching my head in pain. Something was wrong! Terribly wrong! But I just couldn't pin it… my head hurt like two rocks were being grinded against it on each side… slowly my vision went black…
…
"Oh no! Please get up!" I heard a high pitch voice call.
"Monomi…" I said in response as I opened my eyes.
"Oh my, I was terribly worried for a second. I'm dreadfully sorry for having to do this but you need to go up those escalators before Monokuma gets mad…"
"Huh… oh… yeah right." I quickly regained my composure as pain began to recede, I needed to focus on the trial.
A trial of life and death… two attempted murders and an actual murder, a potential framing, a stabbing, a poisoning… this is it. I headed up the escalator… it leads into an elevator where everyone was waiting.
"So we had to go up before going down, how counterproductive." Sato commented before the elevator started to shake and descend. No one else said anything, we just waited in anticipation. Just waited… and waited…
Until the door opened and we headed into the trial room, 18 stands in a circle were ready for us, one of them had a picture of Nidai with a X-mark made out of what looked like blood in the shape of chains. Each stand had a name chiselled into it, one for each of us. I took my place, on my right was Pekoyama and on my left was Ibuki. I looked around to see where everyone was positioned. From me to my right was, Pekoyama, Soda, Sato, Nidai, Owari, Tanaka, Chiaki, Togami, Koizumi, Hanamura, Saionji, Komaeda, Tsumiki, Tsuki, Sonia, Kuzuryū, Ibuki and finally back to me. Somehow this felt different from before… but what was this 'before' feeling I had?
"Now before we begin, let me give an explanation of the class trial that I say is brief but really it isn't and I needlessly repeat it every god damn time just so that the viewers can get their own feeling of Despair." Monokuma said.
"Just get one with it." Togami said.
"Fine, fine. You guys debate to find out who the killer is, and once you've come to a conclusion it's voting time. Once the killer has been decided by majority vote and you are correct I'll punish them and them alone. If you get it wrong, then I'll execute everyone but the killer! Now get going!" Monokuma ordered.
"Such a cruel rule!" Monomi said as she hung from a rope.
Time for that thing you hate the most about this game, (aside from killing of your favourite character) cringe tutorials where the devs think their being edgy and unique but really it's just really annoying that you have to read through this to learn the controls or skip it and go in blindly. Anyway, since this is just text on paper you can figure out how this works easily. After all, the way Hajime works through trials will still be the same. For other investigators, when we switch to them for other trials, the layout will be different. But for now let's stick to reliable Hajime. Also there will be more Rebuttal Showdowns with more characters, even if they never took part in it before, because I think they're pretty cool.
Trial Start
Non-Stop Debate
Mikan Tsumiki: S-So where do we start…?
Nagito Komaeda: Who knows? A lot went on that night.
Kazuichi Soda: I know and I'm going to prove it to you all!
Akane Owari: What, you know? Then spit it out already!
Kazuichi Soda: Well Nidai died of poisoning right? Meaning that the killer is clearly Hanamura!
Teruteru Hanamura: No I'm not!
Ibuki Mioda: You cooked the food! HOW SUSPICIOUS!
Kazuichi Soda: Nidai died in the bathroom as he ate a chicken leg that was cooked by Hanamura!
Akiko Sato: That puts a lot of suspicion on him.
No, I wish it was this clear cut but it isn't. I don't want to do this but… I have to show everyone that this isn't going to help find the killer.
Hajime Hinata: No, that's wrong! Nidai definitely didn't eat that chicken leg! It had n-
Kazuichi Soda: I came prepared!
Rebuttal Showdown!
Kazuichi vs Hajime
"Teruteru definitely killed Nekomaru!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"That chicken leg was cooked by Teruteru and
was found next to Nekomaru's body. He brought
it to the toilet before eating it and dying!"
"Take a closer look,
that chicken leg had no bite marks inside it!"
"So? Maybe he sniffed it as he
sat down on the toilet!"
"The Monokuma File clearly shows that the poison
needed to have been ingested!"
"Stupid Hinata, he could have licked it or something.
He definitely are the chicken in the bathroom!"
"Allow me to cut through those words! The poison
takes 15-minutes before paralysing and killing the victim.
Nidai couldn't have eaten the chicken leg in any form in that bathroom
in that span of time since he died before he was able to do his business."
End!
"So was the chicken leg a red herring?" Sonia asked.
"The door to the bathroom was even locked so the chicken leg couldn't have been planted by the killer." I finished explaining.
"I-I would never soil my food with poison! As my lovely Hinata said, you have no proof!" Hanamura said.
"Sooo… now what?" Ibuki asked nervously.
"If anyone has any leads regarding the poisoning then present it." Togami said. No one said anything in response to it.
"We already have suspects." Sato started to say. "Those that spent the most amount of time near the food could have easily placed the poison."
Non-Stop Debate
Akiko Sato: Those who spent the most amount of time around the food are the most suspicious.
Hiyoko Saionji: So it was that sleazy cook then!
Teruteru Hanamura: I would never do something so horrible to my food!
Akiko Sato: There are others who are suspicious as well, such as both Komaeda and Tsuki.
Nagito Komaeda: There's no way it's any of us…
Akiko Sato: That just makes you more suspicious.
Kettei Tsuki: We spent a lot of time moving in-between the supermarket and old building. So anyone could have snuck in and planted that poison.
Sonia Nevermind: Does that mean none of us have an alibi?
Gundham Tanaka: Perhaps the poison was planted afterwards?
Akane Owari: So was someone carryin' the poison with them?
Mikan Tsumiki: T-That would be very d-dangerous.
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryū: They fuckin' killed someone remember? Something dangerous wouldn't stop them.
The poison that killed Nidai… was it brought before or after the party started? I need to see what evidence helps here… of course! I know what to show… but it isn't going to help our situation much. Only deny one of the many possibilities, are we even getting somewhere?
Hajime Hinata: You've got that wrong! The poison couldn't have been smuggled in the party because of the body search Togami performed on everyone.
Break!
"Togami, did you confiscate any vials of poison?" I asked.
"No." Togami responded.
"How can we believe that?" Sato questioned. "Togami could have brought It himself in one of those duralumin cases."
"You're better off not accusing me; it won't lead anywhere." Togami said.
"You suggested an idea of a party and are the only one who could have brought foreign items inside." Sato said unrelentingly.
"This is a waste of time but if you need proof then fine." Togami said before turning to someone else. "Sonia hand me the key."
"I see, so this is why you gave it to me." Sonia said before handing two keys down to Togami. With it he picked up the duralumin cases he had been carrying around and unlocked it.
"After the murder I asked both Sonia and Tanaka to look at what was inside." Togami started to explained. "They can confirm that there was no such vial of poison or anything of the sorts."
"Yes, it is as Togami said." Sonia confirmed. Tanaka just gave a brief nod.
"You could have gotten rid of it before." Kuzuryū said.
"I would have had to dispose of it before the murder. I did not have access to the duralumin cases because I gave the key to Sonia right after the murder in case I was suspected." Togami started to explain, as if he was three steps ahead of everyone else. "It's a lot more likely the killer had disposed of the poison before we found the body, otherwise it would have been a huge risk to walk around with it, especially if I had already performed one body check."
"So er, when was the poison planted then?" Soda asked unsurely.
"I-It was either b-before the party or during it." Tsumiki answered.
"Ibuki is confused, when was the poison put in the food?" Ibuki asked.
"It could have been placed in the food before the party started." Koizumi suggested.
"Or brought in, during the party by Togami and he managed to dispose of it inconspicuously." Sato added on.
"Your suspicions are misled, but there isn't anything else to incriminate me so you all best move the conversation onto something to else to find the real killer." Togami advised.
"Do we have any other leads?" Tsuki asked to everyone… but no one replied. I didn't anything else related to the poisoning either.
"…"
"This is a problem since we have no further evidence regarding this case." Pekoyama said.
"Are we already stuck? It hasn't even been that long!" Saionji complained.
"W-We can't give up already." Koizumi said.
"I agree; we need to find something else to discuss." Sato added on.
"Instead of jumping directly to the poisoning, maybe we should discuss every event that happened that night?" Chiaki advised.
"What? But how does that relate as to how coach was murdered?" Owari asked.
"Monokuma said it himself that everything was connected. If we solve the other two cases we should be closer to the answer." I said, not really believing myself.
"Then we can discuss Hanamura's attempted murder." Sato suggested.
"I was framed!" Hanamura said in defence.
Was Hanamura framed? That's the first mystery I need to figure out… but I feel like it won't be answered any time soon. I should focus on what just happened for now…
Non-Stop Debate
Teruteru Hanamura: I was definitely framed! That Iron Skewer was planted by someone else!
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryū: Dude you're so fuckin' suspicious. Poison and a skewer in your food… what's next? A bomb?
Akiko Sato: When would Hanamura have used this weapon? We should focus on that.
Gundham Tanaka: Even a mortal like him isn't dumb enough to just stab someone in plain sight.
Ibuki Mioda: Maybe he waited until someone was alone then STABBY STAAB STAB.
Mahiru Koizumi: Wasn't Pekoyama alone? Were you planning to kill her?!
Peko Pekoyama: That would be foolish, I would have unarmed him easily.
Hiyoko Saionji: That's the kind of thing a moron like him would do!
Chiaki Nanami: Maybe he found a way to gain an advantage…?
Teruteru Hanamura: T-There isn't anything to suggest it was me! I was framed!"
Was he framed…? Or was it planned? The outcome of this could change the trial dramatically… Actually I'm not too sure where this is going to lead, but I have evidence to help get me there. And I think she has a similar idea.
Hajime Hinata: I agree with that! The user of the Iron Skewer was going to use the blackout to gain an advantage and kill someone unsuspectingly!
Break!
"They were going to use the blackout to kill someone?!" Sonia gasped.
"Suits the coward." Sato commented as she glared at Hanamura.
"P-P-Please! It wasn't me!" Hanamura begged.
"Is that right? You think the one who planted that iron skewer, the 'killer', was going use the blackout in order to kill someone?" Komaeda questioned.
"T-That's what I said… why are you questioning it Komaeda?" I asked.
"Well that would mean the 'killer' would have planned out the blackout, right?" Komaeda said.
The 'killer' planned out the blackout…? Can I really be sure that it was them who planned it out…? I can't… there isn't any proof it was them! Is Komaeda… trying to help me or misdirect me? Could someone else have done it?
"…I can't prove it." I admitted.
"Then we should try looking at it differently." Chiaki said. "Maybe if the case with the Iron Skewer doesn't explain the blackout… we should go to other third case that will… I think."
The third case… the one we haven't discussed yet… the one that took place during the blackout!
"The cause of the blackout, is directly related to the attempted murder during it. The one where both Tsuki and Komaeda ended up fighting in the dark." I agreed.
"Where I got stabbed." Tsuki reminded.
"And I got attacked." Komaeda said.
"B-But how do we figure out what happened… d-during then?" Tsumiki asked.
"Did the 'killer' manipulate both the lights and the floorboards?" Tanaka asked.
The one who attempted to kill either Tsuki or Komaeda… were they the cause of breaking the floorboards? Is that even possible?
"We should take this step by step and first figure out how the blackout was setup." Chiaki advised.
Non-Stop Debate
Kazuichi Soda: Pekoyama was in the office room with the circuit breaker! She did it!
Peko Pekoyama: I was in the office, but I did not touch the circuit breaker.
Akane Owari: Maybe they turned the lights off?
Byakuya Togami: Consider a power surge.
Akiko Sato: How about some sort of electronic timer linked to the circuitry?
Teruteru Hanamura: Maybe it was just a coincidence?
There's a lot of different ways this could have played out… but I think I know what really happened!
Hajime Hinata: That must be it! An intentional power surge was caused with the irons in the storage room!"
Break!
"When me and Koizumi investigated the storage room, we found that three irons were turned on before the blackout. By using that much power, they caused a power surge!" I explained.
"Huh? So the irons really were useful?" Koizumi said.
"The circuitry in that old building was pretty bad… it could have caused it." Soda said.
"Are you sure about that?" Komaeda questioned. "Is that really conclusive evidence that the blackout was intentional?"
"K-Komaeda? You didn't even investigate, what are you saying…?" I replied.
"I may be out of the loop here… but your argument is severely lacking for the Ultimate… oh wait, you still don't remember." Komaeda pointed out.
"W-Who cares about that? If you have a problem, then just say it!" I demanded.
"Fine… will you battle me head to head Hajime?" Komaeda asked… I never gave him permission to use my name! "No, that's wrong!"
Rebuttal Showdown!
Nagito vs Hajime
"Show me the extent of your hope!"
"W-What are you talking about?"
"The first issue here is how do you know
the irons were used for the blackout?"
"The irons were still exuding heat when I
investigated them."
"Maybe someone switched them on after?
The killer could have been on the loose
and tampering with evidence."
"Impossible. Togami forced us to investigate
in twos! Everyone has an alibi."
"Did he now? Then what if the killer had an
accomplice? Then the two could have paired
up and not rat on each other."
"Monokuma specifically said that there were
no accomplices!"
"Ok, but how do you prove the irons were
switched on with the intention of causing a
blackout?"
"Three of them were plugged in and had there
switches set to on. How is that not suspicious?"
"Maybe someone just wanted to iron some
clothes and left them on?"
"What sort of argument is that? What are
you trying to pull here Nagito!?"
"Do you have proof that the irons were
switched on with the intentions of causing
the blackout?"
"Yes I do!"
End!
"Koizumi pointed out something specific-" I tried to say but Togami interrupted.
"I have a question." Togami said, this was the first time he had spoken up.
"What's the big idea speaking up all of a sudden?!" Koizumi questioned.
"Don't question it." Togami said before turning to Nagito. "Komaeda, how do you iron your clothes?"
"Huh? Iron my clothes? Well you just turn it on and put the clothes on the ironing board." Nagito answered.
"Tsuki, now you answer." Togami ordered.
"You check that the clothes are the right material to be ironed, then you fill it with water, set the heat according to the material of the clothes… and then I can go into detail about how you iron them but that would take a while." Tsuki answered.
"That is all, go back to debating." Togami said.
What was that all about? Togami just stays silent all this time but now decides to speak up… was he trying to prove something?
"A boy who irons their clothes…" Koizumi asked in surprise.
"Weekly… but I think we should get back on topic." Tsuki said. "Hinata, what was this proof that the irons were used with the intention of the blackout?"
"As I was saying, Koizumi pointed something out to me before." I said, even though my moment had passed. "Whenever you switch an iron on and leave it aside, it leaks."
"And…?" Komaeda asked.
"We didn't find any traces of water near them, because they weren't filled with any! Why would you iron clothes without any water…? You wouldn't!" I pointed out.
"That would burn them!" Koizumi added on.
"Ah!" Tsuki said in inspiration. "And with Togami's question, Komaeda didn't mention using water with an iron, he slipped up! Nagito set up the irons, and thus the blackout!"
"You're accusing me? But how did 'I' control the blackout to go off when I wanted?" Komaeda asked nonchalantly.
"I didn't get to investigate so I don't know. Does anyone have any idea?" Tsuki asked, mainly looking at me.
"I know." I answered, my hunch was right. "The AC timers were both set for 11:30pm! That could have overloaded the circuit and cause a blackout!"
"That's a lot of power being used, it would definitely cause a blackout." Soda confirmed.
"11:30? When did that happen?" Komaeda questioned.
"Huh?" I said in surprise.
"I'm saying, how do we know the blackout went off at 11:30pm?" Komaeda said.
"It's obviously you! Stop denying it and just admit it already!" Saionji said.
"You set up the blackout and tried to kill Tsuki during it, didn't you?" Kuzuryū accused.
"You're all just assuming that." Tsuki explained. "You can't claim such things without the appropriate proof."
"W-What are you doing!? Are you… admitting to your guilt?" Sonia gasped.
"No… I believe I'm not guilty, but this isn't how I want it to be done. If you're going to accuse someone of attempted murder you have to be sure of it." Tsuki said.
"What the hell! You're… defending him!?" Soda asked in surprise.
"I'm not defending him, I accused him remember?" Tsuki said. "I'm saying that we have to look through every problem. Now Nagito, if we prove that the power went off at 11:30, that would incriminate you further, would it not?"
"It suppose it would." Komaeda said.
"Then someone prove it!" Tsuki said.
"I'll do that." Togami said. "Nidai ate this 'poisoned food' at roughly 11:15, giving it 15-minutes to kill him at around 11:30 as said in the Monokuma File. Hinata has proved that Nidai didn't eat the food in or during his way to the bathroom... so he ate the food sometime during the party, before the blackout. That means we know the blackout went off after 11:15. Everyone understand?"
I don't believe it… Togami sounds like he had this planned!
"You've made that point pretty clear, well done." Komaeda replied.
"Exactly, the blackout occurred around that time, this helps prove that AC times were connected to the blackout. And the person who set the AC timers, were Nagito. I saw him do it." Tsuki finished.
"Why didn't you say that before!?" Soda shouted in annoyance.
"Because my testimony is just as unreliable as Nagito's." Tsuki said. "Instead of proving it with something you can't be sure of, prove it with something you can. And Togami helped prove that with his little explanation. So I just said that as an add on."
"That's true… it could have been me who set up the blackout." Komaeda agreed. "But how can you prove that someone else didn't? Anyone could have snuck in the old building while it was being cleaned. Can you answer that?"
"Prove? This isn't a real trial you know! It's obvious you set up the blackout!" Saionji accused.
"Is it really? Why do you think it was me who set all that up?" Komaeda asked… everyone had his eyes on him. He had been acting very suspicious and clearly the others had noticed.
"You set the AC timers." Sato said.
"You were cleaning the old building, you had the opportunity to set them up." Koizumi accused.
"The party at the old building was your idea wasn't it?" Pekoyama mentioned.
"You rigged the drawings didn't you, so you could get picked!" Soda said.
"Now, now… let's all just calm down here. After all, can you prove it was me who did all that stuff?" Nagito mentioned.
"It was obviously you!" Soda retorted.
"No, he has a point." Tsuki said.
"What?" I said in surprise.
"You're all just assuming that." Tsuki said. "You can't claim such things without the appropriate proof, in reality I look just as guilty. You only have my word that Nagito set the AC timers and I offered to clean the old building, even though I wasn't picked at the drawings." Tsuki explained to all our horror.
"Why are you set on defending the one who tried to kill you?!" Sato snarled.
"Look at it differently for a moment." Tsuki said. "You're all just ganging up on Nagito because I pointed you in that direction. Before you all jumped on Hanamura because he was the cook, but there isn't anything actually incriminating him! Stop being so narrow minded and think about it clearly! Otherwise the real killer is just going misguide you all!"
Narrow… minded? All this time I was busy thinking Nagito was the cause of this… but I completely forgot about Tsuki.
"This is useless! We haven't figured anything out." Saionji suddenly said.
"N-No progress?" Tsumiki asked.
"She's right." Nagito answered. We've been arguing at this for a while now… but we're still no closer to figuring it out."
"W-What do you mean? If you just give me more time I can figure out who-" I tried to say but Nagito interrupted me.
"Who cares? It's obvious this has nothing to do with Nekomaru's murder, even if we do figure it out. Even if I caused the blackout! This whole situation is just… hopeless." Nagito said.
"B-But!" I tried to fight but he wouldn't let me.
"How about… instead of surviving by doubting others, isn't it better to get killed for believing in others?" Nagito said.
"D-Doesn't that mean…? Are you saying we should all just give up and die?" Ibuki gasped in horror.
"Nagito! Something is wrong with you! Drop the act!" I shouted.
"What act are you talking about...? You're the one that isn't normal… doubting people on the case of two attempted murders and an actual one. That isn't normal you know?" Nagito said back to me. "It's impossible for all that to have happened on just the second day don't you think… I mean… I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to doubt my friends!"
"I… I don't want to do this either..." Hanamura agreed.
"D-Don't say that…!" Sato tried to fight.
"I-I want to go home already!" Tsumiki begged.
"Waaaaaah! I wanna go home and eat candy!" Saionji said in tears.
"S-Stop it… don't talk like… like this…!" Koizumi begged.
"E-Everyone calm down!" I called but to little effect.
"We're all friends… aren't we?" Nagito said. "Is it really possible that all this happened in one night? It's impossible… it's all just Monokuma's doing."
"You can't suddenly just pin this all on Monokuma! Nidai died by one our hands." I retorted.
"There are no clues related to the poisoning you know… we have no idea who or what happened." Nagito preached.
The whole atmosphere sunk down into deep, dark despair. In truth I'm feeling it too… we have no actual leads on the real murder. Of course Monokuma said that the cases are related… but can I really believe that? I… have no idea who poisoned Nidai! But I have to do something, I need to say something…
"Do we… have the right?" I heard Tsuki mutter.
"The… right?" I asked, instantly regretting it though. This isn't going to go well…
"As in, the right to stop the killer?" Tsuki said louder, for everyone to hear.
"They killed Nidai. Of course we have the right to stop them." Sato said.
"I know this is going hurt my image, but I've been meaning to ask this." Tsuki said. "The killer among us… they killed someone because they wanted to go home right? At least, that's what I think… they killed someone because they wanted to check on their family. After those horrifying photos of the broken world outside this island I'm pretty sure we're all worried about them." Tsuki said.
By reminding us all that, somehow the mood got even worse.
"So I want to know, are we going to stop this killer from seeing their mom, dad… maybe a little sister, bigger brother or even a childhood friend. Are we really going to reveal them and have Monokuma kill them, so that we can all survive another day on this island? Are we entitled to make that sort of decision?" Tsuki kept saying.
The killers motive… I never thought of it like that. Have I been… trying to kill an innocent person?
No… of course not. They killed Nidai to do it… they aren't innocent. But why aren't I objecting? I just can't find it in myself to… it sounds like they're the good guy but they aren't, so say something Hajime!
But before I could…
"So which path are we choosing?" Tsuki asked, now more lively. "Are we going to die not doubting our friends and give the killer the burden of telling our story to whoever is alive on the other side of the world? Or are we going to carry the burden of unravelling the killer ourselves and having them executed so we can live to fight another day? What will it be? What path are we taking!?" Tsuki roared that last bit to us with complete confidence, as expected of someone with the title of Ultimate Determined.
That speech… was neither full of hope, nor full of despair. But it definitely contained both of those elements, each option had its ups and down. But now I'm sure what we're fighting for… and what we are willing to sacrifice for it.
"I'll just go along with what everyone else chooses." Nagito said.
"I can live with sacrificing the killer, especially if it means our survival." Sato said.
"Tch, I agree with you. I ain't sacrificing myself for some killer." Kuzuryū agreed.
"So do I, killing is unforgiven so we must keep fighting." Pekoyama added on.
"As if I would give up this body for another, unheard of." Tanaka said.
"That killer is the lowest of the low! He deserves to be executed!" Saionji said.
"Well I don't like the idea of sacrificing anyone… I think we should keep trying." Chiaki said, at least her intentions were purer and… human.
"We have to keep on going, no matter the cost." I said.
"I'll keep fighting then, for coach Nekomaru!" Owari agreed.
"I guess I have to as well then." Soda said.
"M-Me too…" Koizumi agreed.
"Yes, we should work together to find the truth behind this unfortunate incident." Sonia announced.
"Hmph, this was an unneeded delay but if you want my input then it is to carry on." Togami said.
"Yeah, Ibuki wants this to keep going like the words that fly through the air." Ibuki added on.
"I-I-I'll do my best then!" Tsumiki said as she tried to build her confidence.
"Y-Yeah… I agree." Hanamura said lastly.
"Good, now that we're all in agreement let's carry this on." Tsuki announced. "We know a blackout was set up by someone and during this I was attacked."
"Then let's think about it like this." Chiaki said. "After setting up the blackout, what did that person plan to do? We should discuss that… I think."
Non-Stop Debate
Chiaki Nanami: What were they planning to do… as the lights went out?"
Akiko Sato: To kill someone of course.
Peko Pekoyama: But how? It was impossible to see in the dark.
Akane Owari: Maybe they used a light?
Kazuichi Soda: They could have just used the walls.
Byakuya Togami: Those options are neither practical nor probable to kill someone.
Mahiru Koizumi: What about something to guide them?
Sonia Nevermind: Perhaps a way to see in the dark?
What was the plan after the lights went out…? Assuming it was Tsuki or Nagito then that would mean…
Hajime Hinata: You've got that right! Koizumi, can you bring out the picture you drew up before?
Break!
"I've got it right here…" Koizumi responded as she brought up the picture. I pointed at the particular table with a desk lamp on it.
"Using the lamp chord, the 'killer' managed to make their way to the table." I said but no one really caught wind of what I was saying.
"And Hajime said that because…" Ibuki said.
"Do you recall the knife used to stab Tsuki?" I carried on. "The knife was hidden underneath the table before the party. Togami, did you check underneath the tables?"
"Ngh!" Togami instantly flinched at that. "No… I didn't."
"No that's wrong!" Nagito retorted.
Rebuttal Showdown!
Nagito vs Hajime
"Is that it? Is that all you have?"
"Y-You again?"
"How do you know the knife
was hidden underneath the table?"
"Underneath that table,
I found tape stuck to it!"
"How do you know that there
wasn't tape under every table?"
"What sort of argument is that?"
"One fit for the likes of me…"
"What…? Whatever, the tape under
that table had green paint on it!"
"What does that do?"
"It's glow in the dark! So by using the
lamp chord to get to the table, they were
able to grab the knife underneath it!"
"And what was his plan then?
After grabbing the knife, what
was the plan?"
"To kill someone of course. Using the blackout
as cover and distraction, they took the knife and
tried to kill someone with it!"
"But who would do
something like that? Can
you prove who was near
the table at that time?"
"Yes I can!"
End!
"Look back at the diagram Koizumi and Chiaki drew, it shows the positions of everyone just before me and Togami brought Hanamura from the kitchen. In other words, just before the blackout." I explained.
"So the killer is whoever was spending time near that table…" Sato announced as she looked at the diagram.
"I remember both me and Nagito were still in those positions at the time of the blackout, I had moved slightly away though when Togami accused Hanamura. Not that you can believe that." Tsuki said.
"Then one of you two did it." Sato accused.
"Now it's a matter of proving who did it." Tsuki replied. "Any ideas on how?"
"Just tell us!" Soda asked.
"That isn't going to work." Tsuki replied in an annoyed manner. "If I did it then I would say it wasn't me, if Nagito did it he would say it wasn't him. If neither of us did it, we would both say we it wasn't us. Either way the answer stays the same, so this is going to have to be proved."
Non-Stop Debate
Kettei Tsuki: Who grabbed the knife? Me? Or Nagito?
Kazuichi Soda: Stop talking like that, it's creepy!
Mahiru Koizumi: It had to be Nagito right? I mean Tsuki was cut in his arm.
Akiko Sato: Meaning Tsuki was struck first.
Teruteru Hanamura: But is that really what happened?
Ibuki Mioda: Ibuki is unsure as well.
Akane Owari: What if there was a third person?
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryū: Wasn't Komaeda closer to the table? Then it was him!
Gundham Tanaka: They both had the chance to hide the knife earlier.
Who stabbed who with the knife? I feel like the answer is obvious but something doesn't make sense…
Hajime Hinata: There's a problem with that! Think back to Ibuki's account, can you recall what was said?
Break!
"Hajime wants Ibuki to repeat that again? Nughh! Ok sure.
"Who turned the lights off?" Akane asked.
"I-I can't see!" Ibuki said cutely.
"E-Everyone stay calm." Mahiru said.
"Stop moving and calm down!" Sato commanded.
"Ugh!" Nagito shouted.
"Arghh!" Kettei screamed.
"Can someone let me down!?" Teruteru begged.
BANG
Togami figured out this was the table that fell on the floor, but as it did, then the floor began to fall.
CRAAAAAAAAAASH
And that was the floor falling and with it fell poor Kettei and Nagito.
"If Nagito was struck first, then why did he shout in pain first?" Hinata asked.
"That struck me as odd as well." Tsuki confirmed. "I heard that directly before I was stabbed, and it was very close."
"So there was a third person?" Owari asked.
"I'm not sure about that…" I replied.
"Then we should hear both Komaeda's and Tsuki's testimonies." Togami said.
"I was punched as the lights went out before getting tackled on the floor. Then the floor collapsed twice and I ended up underneath the floorboards." Komaeda said.
"I remember getting stabbed in the arm at first, then I turned and grabbed my attacker to the floor but we ended up on the table I think. A few moments after that I fell a distance and ended up under the floorboards." Tsuki explained.
"So one of them is lying." Sato said.
Non-Stop Debate
Akane Owari: What about a third person doin' it all?
Peko Pekoyama: That would explain how both Komaeda and Tsuki was struck.
Kettei Tsuki: But I'm pretty sure I pinned the person who stabbed me into the table…
Gundham Tanaka: Perhaps you were struck from behind with the knife at first…
Sonia Nevermind: And then you accidently attacked Komaeda in the dark.
Kettei Tsuki: No, I'm sure I grabbed my attacker and pinned them into that table!
Kazuichi Soda: Maybe when you pushed the third guy into the table, you hit Komaeda on the way!
Akiko Sato: But where did they go? The floor broke underneath them remember?
Teruteru Hanamura: They used the paint trail to run away before anyone noticed him!
Ibuki Mioda: Wooo! We proved it!
There are two problems here… but what does that latter mean? I need to go with what I'm confident with…!
Hajime Hinata: You've got that wrong! Tsuki couldn't have been struck from behind.
Break!
"Think back to the layout of everyone, Tsuki couldn't have been struck from behind since he had his back to the wall!" I said.
"Don't underestimate me!" Tanaka shouted back.
Rebuttal Showdown!
Gundham vs Hajime
"Your argument is invalid and
your claims are fallible!"
"Fallible? You didn't even let me
finish explaining!"
"There was no need to, I can
see how your argument is flawed!"
"…"
"First off, his placing is just an assumption
off a picture that was taken before the
actual scene!"
"But Tsuki already confirmed
that he and Nagito were there."
"Then instead of 'behind,' he was
struck from the left."
"The stab is on his right arm. Also the
knife under the table was on his right!"
"Gah! Then how do you
explain the contradictions!?"
"It's simple, after getting stabbed,
Tsuki did indeed pin his attacker to the table.
Both the table and the floor broke, leading them to both
fall down."
"Kahaha! Go on then my
servant! I have you lead
you to the truth!"
"Wha…? Cut the crap, the person on Tsuki's
right was… Nagito Komaeda!"
End!
"Don't you have proof as well Hajime?" Chiaki asked me.
What the hell was that all about…? Whatever, what does Chiaki mean? Proof? Is there anything that shows how this really happened… something that can tell us how this really occurred…
"I got it!" I shouted at my deductions. "Using the Wound Examination we can prove what really happened!"
"Wound… Examination?" Owari asked in confusion.
"Yes." Togami answered. "I knew something like this would happen so I ordered Tsumiki to perform a Wound Examination, where she told us exactly what bruises they had on them."
"D-Does that mean she saw them in the nu-" Soda tried to say but he was interrupted.
"Let's not go down this filthy route." Togami chastened.
"I-I'm a nurse… it's only natural that I get to see…" Tsumiki said shyly.
"Don't go into detail!" Koizumi shouted.
"E-Eek! S-S-Sorry!" Tsumiki apologized.
"Ohohoho, Mikan got see some meat!" Ibuki teased.
"I'm so jealous! Someone stab me!" Hanamura begged.
"Man I can't believe it… it's only day two and both of them got her to see them in the n-" Soda tried to say but was once again interrupted.
"I said we shouldn't and yet we still did. Can't you all be more mature!?" Togami shouted.
"Hehe, maybe I really am lucky… Sorry you had to look at my body…" Nagito said quietly.
"Hm, it's usually the other way around for me…" Tsuki muttered to himself.
"Let's get back on topic." Sato ordered.
"Y-Yeah…" I agreed. "Try imagining what happened in the dark. First Tsuki was stabbed from the night, the cut on his right arm proves this. He then tackled his assailant into the table before the table and floor broke."
"There's also proof that Tsuki did tackle the culprit." Chiaki said.
"Yeah, there is." I agreed. "If Tsuki tackled them onto the table that means he was on top of them. So when the floor collapsed, the culprit fell on their back, resulting in large bruising."
"A-Ah!" Tsumiki realised. "K-Komaeda had a large amount of bruising on his back, likely from a drop in height!"
"So it was Komaeda!" Sato spat.
"There's one more piece of evidence Hinata." Togami said. "If Tsuki was on top of Komaeda before the floor broke, he would have had a certain mark."
"That's right." I said, although why I have to say it for him is beyond me. "If you're on top of someone, then it isn't too hard to think that while falling the air you fall on your side. Explaining the bruise on his left arm!"
"That's exactly how I hit my arm, and Tsumiki said it was likely from a drop in distance." Tsuki agreed.
"What about Nagito hurting first?" Ibuki asked.
"That was a red herring to confuse us." Togami said.
"Well then, what do you have to say to that Nagito!?" I said as I pointed my finger at him.
"Admit to your guilt!" Sato shouted.
"To think… you really did mean to stab me!" Tsuki said bitterly. "If you having any problems, or contradictions then say so now! Admit it or prove to me that we made a mistake!"
"Aha…" Nagito gave a quiet laugh.
"Be careful." Togami warned.
"Huh?" Saionji asked in surprise.
"Brace your selves, something horrifying is about to show." Togami said before…
"Aha, aha… ahahahaa… aaaaaaahahahahahahaa!" A loud, nasally laugh echoed through the room, full of malice and evil. "All the symbols of Hope… ganging up on me… I… I can't believe it!" He grabbed his shoulders and shivered side to side.
"Th-This is Nagito?" I gasped.
"I... didn't realise he was really like this." Tsuki gritted through his teeth.
"This is worse… then even I suspected." Togami admitted.
"Well then, since you figured it out I'll just admit to it… I set up the black out, planted the knife and stabbed Kettei in the dark. But I pretended to shout in pain first as a red herring!" Nagito finally admitted.
"Why?!" Togami shouted at him.
"Isn't it obvious…" Nagito replied.
"H-He's completely psycho! Do you need more of a reason?" Soda said.
"No, he didn't kill to get off this island." Togami answered. "He doesn't feel remorse for the dead, he has no respect for them."
"O-Of course I do… I love him… for his talents!"
"For his talent?" Sato questioned.
"Yes! You guys… are symbols of Hope! All of you with your amazing talents of hope! I'm so lucky to be in your presence!" Nagito preached.
"You tried to kill me… for the sake of hope…?" Tsuki figured out in disbelief.
"I did… because I yearn for a powerful hope! A hope inside someone that could overcome any despair!" Nagito said insanely.
"What the hell man…?" Soda said in shock.
"Ibuki is slightly… no really terrified!"
"This asshole is just playing with us!" Kuzuryū shouted.
"What is that dark malice that emits from him…?" Tanaka gasped.
"A powerful hope needs despair to power through first! And if I die helping for that hope, as a stepping stone… I can accept that I have to die for that to happen!" Nagito preached.
"So you were going to kill me and get caught for your crimes… just so you can die and… empower everyone's hope'?" Tsuki questioned.
"Not just everyone's hope… the Ultimate Absolute Hope! A hope that powerful is what I, no the world, wants. A hope like that…" Nagito then went off into some self-blubbering, the only hearable word was hope.
"What the…" Tsuki muffled before speaking up. "What if this 'hope' just died? They could have been executed!"
"Not possible." Nagito replied instantly. "Because in the end… Hope, always, wins!"
"We aren't getting anywhere with this." Togami interrupted. "We need to get back to the trial."
"But it's obvious that he did it!" Saionji said as she pointed at Nagito.
"No…" Tsuki said through his teeth. "The fact that Nagito tried to kill me… means he likely wasn't behind the poisoning."
"What!?" Sato gasped. "You're still set on defending him?"
"Think about it… if you can just poison the food then why would you risk stabbing someone?" Tsuki asked.
"He's psycho! There's no need to debate this any further!" Soda said.
"Method behind the madness." Tsuki said. "Just because someone is a psychopath doesn't mean their stupid."
"I agree." Sonia said. "Just because one has misconceptions on life doesn't mean their intelligence is mentally handicapped."
"Y-You agree with him…?" Soda said in shock.
"That right… there's no way trash like me could plan something as advanced as a poisoning. All I could do was a shoddy murder attempt." Nagito said.
"Guess you didn't expect me to fight back after getting stabbed." Tsuki said.
"Are you sure about that?" Chiaki questioned.
"What…?" Tsuki replied.
"I think… there's still more we need to discuss. Like the mystery behind the first case, the iron skewer one."
"How is that connected?" Koizumi asked.
"It is connected." Togami replied. "And someone has misspoken, proving their intentions. Do you know who it is Hinata?"
The person who misspoke, I caught it a while ago. They knew something they shouldn't have, it's him because of that.
"You're the only one!" I exclaimed. "Teruteru Hanamura!"
"M-M-Me again!?" Hanamura gasped.
"How did you know that… there was green paint under the floorboards?" I asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hanamura asked.
"You said before 'They used the paint trail to run away before anyone noticed him!' You couldn't have known that, because there you had no chance to after we noticed the iron skewer." I explained. "The moment we did, Togami kept you in his sights."
"What about during the blackout?" Owari asked. "He coulda seen it then."
"That can't be it, after all he was pinned up on the wall." I replied.
"Indeed he was, his feet didn't even touch the floor, so it was impossible for him to have seen it at all." Sato confirmed. "Unless Togami and he investigated it."
"No, we didn't. I didn't have time to investigate underneath the floorboards, so Hanamura shouldn't know about the green paint that he mentioned before." I said. "So Hanamura, explain!" We all looked at him with our suspicious gaze. He just trembled before us at our blunder.
"Y-Y-Ya got no'in on me! A l'il sli' o' th' ton'ue an ya all a''se me!" Hanamura blurted.
"I think he said, 'Ya got nothing on me! A little slip of the tongue and you all accuse me!'" Monomi translated.
"Ugh, this again!?" Monokuma moaned. "Maaaaan that's old. Ok, I want you to figure it out yourself, asking Teruteru over there will take longer."
"Somehow I don't think he's lying." Kuzuryū admitted.
"Then instead of questioning him, let us figure it out then." Pekoyama said.
"With this new information, we should be able to figure it out." Chiaki said. "If Hanamura hadn't been caught, what would have happened?"
"Let's see…" I thought.
Rapid Fire Q&A
(You'll understand easily)
Hajime Hinata: When was Hanamura planning to use the iron skewer?
Chiaki Nanami: During the blackout?
Akane Owari: Before the blackout?
Kazuichi Soda: After the blackout?
Hajime Hinata: It was during the blackout; I did catch Hanamura just before the blackout. Now where was he headed after the blackout?
Mikan Tsumiki: The party room?
Akane Owari: The bathroom?
Hiyoko Saionji: The entrance?
Mahiru Koizumi: The storage room?
Hajime Hinata: It must have been the storage room, that room had a trapdoor lead to underneath the floorboards! Now… how would he have gotten there?
Kazuichi Soda: He moved along the walls?
Peko Pekoyama: He used the skewer as a sensor?
Gundham Tanaka: He used the portable stove?
Hajime Hinata: That's it! The portable stove in combination with the fire doors meant he could safely get there without being caught!
Finish!
"I understand it!" I exclaimed. "After getting to the storage room, Hanamura used the secret passage to get underneath the floorboards! From there he used the pre-prepared cut out pieces of cloth to cover himself up from any blood. After that he followed the green paint that he placed before and followed it until it led him to under the table, where he planned to stab whoever was about to grab the green painted knife that was underneath the table!"
"What the… how long have you known this!?" Soda said in surprise.
"Impressive, you must have figured a lot of this out a while ago." Nagito commended. "But there are still a few missing details. After all, how did Hanamura know about the knife?"
"You told me!" Hanamura shouted.
"Regained your composure, have you?" Tsuki asked.
"…" Hanamura just stayed silent.
"You may as well tell us now." Togami ordered. "After all, you didn't actually kill him… so you aren't going to get punished."
"I… guess… so…" Hanamura finally admitted. "I-I-I saw Nagito plant the knife while Tsuki was out… and he was laughing to himself maniacally. I wasn't sure what to do about it… so I questioned him and he said he was going to kill someone no matter what!"
"What"
"The"
"Hell?!"
"Nagito, is this true?!" Togami questioned.
"Of course it is! As I said before, I was going to kill someone no matter what! But… I failed miserably though…" Nagito answered.
"Why?" Sato asked, but not to Nagito. "Why Hanamura, why did you try to kill him? All you had to do was tell someone and something would have been done!"
"You didn't have to go and try to kill him!" Koizumi shouted.
"B-B-But it was to protect you all…" Hanamura begged.
"Ha!" Sato scoffed. "To protect us? By killing him you would have killed us all if you got away with the class trial!"
"…" Hanamura just whimpered.
"You tried to take advantage of the situation Nagito prepped, and kill him." Pekoyama added.
"We're getting off track." Togami reminded. "Hanamura didn't kill Nagito though, he was revealed and caught. There is also one contradiction I have a problem with."
"What is that…?" I asked.
"The carpet, it was blocking the view from under the floorboards to the table. How would Hanamura have known when the knife was taken?" Togami answered.
"Ah!" I had completely forgotten about that.
"That's simple." Tsuki said.
"What?" Togami asked.
"That carpet was put a few minutes before we gathered for Monokuma's explanation about our memories. I had to wait a while because Monomi had it special made to fit exactly the room… weird isn't it?" Tsuki explained.
"Wait…" Hanamura begged. "I-I wasn't finished… someone told me to kill Nagito. They told me about the paint and under the floorboards and the iron skewer trick… It was all to frame me!"
"What!?" We all gasped.
"As if we'd believe that!" Saionji said.
"Who? Who told you?" Togami asked.
"I don't know… they told me through pieces of paper. I got given scrap pieces of notes describing what I should do and how to do it." Hanamura said.
"What the hell!? You could have said this earlier!" Soda shouted.
"I-I was worried you wouldn't believe me!" Hanamura retorted.
"That's so stupid! Even for you!" Saionji spat.
"Why would you follow through someone's orders?" Pekoyama asked.
"T-They promised me… on how to get off this island! They said my diner was in danger, my mom was dying and that our memories had been taken." Hanamura said. "I didn't believe it at first but then… it was true! Monokuma told us about our memories afterwards…!"
"The note!" Togami asked. "Do you still have the note!?"
"Y-Yeah…" Hanamura said. "I hid it… inside the meat on the bone."
"You hid paper, inside the meat!?" Owari gasped.
"T-They told me to burn it… but instead I hid it in case something like this happened." Hanamura said.
"Guahaha!" Monokuma laughed. "While I send a Monokuma to get the meat I want you guys to prepare for voting!"
"B-But we haven't f-figured out w-who poisoned Nidai." Tsumiki said.
"The mastermind behind tonight's events." Togami said. "Someone is behind all this, they knew about Komaeda's murder, they knew about Hanamura's desires, someone has been manipulating everyone here."
"Manipulating!?" A bunch of us gasped.
"That's not it!" Monokuma interrupted. "I want you guys to vote for the attempted murders, after all it's still a crime and needs to be punished!"
"P-Punished?" Sonia asked. "But the rules state only-"
"Are you sure?" Monokuma asked. "I added a new rule since this murder, did anyone check on it?"
Rule 14: Any attempts at murder will be punished less severely but still severely enough to maybe kill you! Similar rules apply as if they were the blackened.
"You could have told us about this!" Kuzuryū shouted.
"Well it's not my fault you didn't read the rules!" Monokuma goaded.
"How many people are we voting for?" Togami asked.
"Three!" Monokuma replied. "Who tried to kill Kettei Tsuki, Nagito Komaeda… and who tried to kill Teruteru Hanamura!"
"Who tried to kill me!?" Hanamura gasped.
"Shouldn't it be only Komaeda and Tsuki?" I asked.
"No, no, no!" Monokuma chastened. "Here are the rules around attempted murder: 'You almost committed murder, but didn't due to some other variable.' That's how I define it!"
"That isn't a proper definition!" Koizumi argued.
"Ah but it's my definition!" Monokuma replied. "None of you asked what it was, so it wasn't set in stone until now!"
"That's not fair!" Kuzuryū shouted.
"Said the yakuza!" Monokuma replied.
"Why would you phrase it like that…?" I heard Chiaki murmur.
"Hold on…" Tsuki asked. "What are the rules on… accidental murder?"
"Accidental murder is still crime!" Monokuma replied. "Meaning accidental attempted murder is still a crime!"
"T-That's insane!" Tsuki shouted back. I looked over at his face, it had gone pale white at the news.
"Now get back to discussing!" Monokuma ordered. "Once you've voted and you've gotten it correct, I'll reveal the contents of the meat!"
"So we have to go through this first to get our answers." Togami analysed.
"Well we already know who tried to kill Tsuki." Sato said.
"I had no idea I was going to be punished after my pathetic failure!" Nagito said in excitement.
"And Hanamura admitted to trying to kill Nagito." I said.
"W-Wait! I didn't know this would happen! I was manipulated by the mastermind!" Hanamura begged.
"Manipulation spaliculation!" Monokuma shouted. "Unless you're a tool with no free will it's your own fault! And don't go stealing that line of reasoning!"
"N-N-No!" Hanamura begged.
"But who tried to kill Hanamura…?" Pekoyama asked.
"The mastermind?" Koizumi suggested.
"Nope!" Monokuma denied. "That person is the real killer… oops I dropped the hint a bit early! Anyway figure out who tried to kill Teruteru!"
"When was Hanamura's pathetic life in danger?" Tanaka asked.
"I-I-I dunno…!" Hanamura answered.
Who tried to kill Hanamura…? I don't really know…
"Th-Think about it cl-clearly!" Tsuki said to everyone. "If a v-version of tonight's event went different… so that Hanamura died, who w-would have done it…?"
How would have Hanamura have died tonight? Think about it!
Suggestive Thoughts
Murder
Attempted
Stabbing
Collapsing Floor
Caught
Accidental
Under Floor
Not stopped?
What would have happened… If Hanamura got under that table?
"I got it!" I shouted… but I didn't want to say the answer.
"Say it!" Tsuki shouted at me. "Accident Attempted Murder is still murder according to Monokuma! So say it!" I looked at him in the eyes, he was shivering, afraid, angry, but yet he roared at me to say the truth!
"It was… you Kettei Tsuki!" I finished.
"What the!?" It took most people off guard, they looked at me for an explanation.
"I'll say it." Tsuki said. "If Hanamura hadn't been stopped, he would have gone underneath the floorboards during the blackout. Now what happened to the floor?"
"AH!" Everyone understood, it collapsed.
"But you didn't cause it to collapse!" Koizumi argued.
"I didn't… not intentionally." Tsuki answered. "But the floor broke under the pressure of me tackling Nagito into it, crushing anyone under it. It was an accident… and under the right circumstances it would have been murder. That's what Monokuma meant by 'Accident Attempted Murder.'"
…
…
…
This was insane, nothing made sense. This was all Monokuma's fault…
"This is so fucked up!" Kuzuryū shouted in annoyance.
"That's my specialty!" Monokuma said. "But then again, it's you guys' fault for attempting murder!"
"Ngh… I don't like it. But we have our answers for this vote." Sato gritted.
"No wait! We cannot do this…! To vote for three of our friends like this, for a murder they did not commit! We cannot do that!" Sonia argued.
"I… don't want to do it either." Koizumi added on.
"Th-This is too cruel." Tsumiki said.
"But…" I tried to say. "We have to vote… otherwise we all die!"
"Exactly!" Monokuma said. "The rules do say: 'Similar rules apply as if they were the blackened.' So you all better get voting!"
"I won't do it!" Sonia argued. "I don't like the idea of thinking a friend killed another friend… but to vote three innocent friends to death for a crime not committed is too harsh!"
"Friend?" Monokuma questioned. "You've only known each other for two days!"
"But… Tsuki is completely innocent. Accidental Attempted Murder is a lie. I abstain." Sonia said. "Even if it kills me."
"M-Miss Sonia…!" Soda tried to argue but couldn't think of anything.
"I'll… follow that." Koizumi said.
"M-Me too…" Tsumiki agreed.
"You can't do that!" Sato argued. "Two of them deliberately tried to commit murder, that is a crime, even in our laws!"
"Accidental Attempted Murder isn't though…" I said. "I feel bad enough trying to condemn a killer, and even worse for this attempted murder stuff…" But you can argue Tsuki is innocent… can I really send all three of them to death, knowing one of them is being accused of something as stupid as 'Accidental Attempted Murder'? Can I really live with myself…?
"H-Hold on… two of them are murderers you know!?" Saionji argued. "That Tsuki kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I hate to admit it…" Pekoyama started to say. "But… sacrifice an innocent to save everyone else."
"I-I don't want to make such a decision man…" Soda sobbed.
"Nrgh…" Tanaka just grumbled.
"Hmmm, I wonder where everyone's Hope lie? Save an innocent friend? Or sacrifice him with the two who tried to murder someone!?" Nagito said excitedly.
"Oh baby now this is some de-e-licious despair!" Monokuma chuffed.
No one knows what to say, there isn't much to say. There is no 'right' answer in this scenario right…? We have to kill an innocent to save us all… The despair got to most of us… choosing like and death like this…
"Everyone!" Tsuki shouted. "Was it not moments ago we all agreed to travel the path where we would condemn our classmate to move on?"
"B-But this is different." Sonia argued.
"I know it is… but I accept it." Tsuki said. "You're all unsure on your decision because you all think I'm innocent, being accused of 'Accidental Attempted Murder.' But I want you all to know I don't mind. in fact, I'm happy it was me. If one of us innocents was going to be punished then I I'll gladly accept the role, knowing it wasn't any of you instead! So I want you all to vote!"
That's insane… that speech is completely insane!
"But…" Sonia tried to argue.
"It's not all Despair." Togami said. "The 14th rule states that it 'maybe kills you.' There is a chance someone will survive."
"Not a very big one. Puhuhu!" Monokuma said.
"Well I'm resistant to death I'll have you know." Tsuki said. "After all I did get stabbed! Now everyone, I want you to cast your votes!"
"We shouldn't lose hope…" Chiaki reminded. "If there is a chance they can survive then I think we should take it."
"I suppose… that is an option." Koizumi said.
"I don't like it…" Sonia argued. "But… if you really are ok with it then…" Sonia tried to say but she was having difficulty.
"Alright, alright!" Monokuma said ecstatically. "Let's get this voting business down! Everyone pull your lever!"
I pulled it down, three blank boxes came up. I selected the faces of Nagito Komaeda, Teruteru Hanamura and… and… Kettei Tsuki.
"Ding, ding, ding! The results are in…" Monokuma announced. "And you are all correct! Nagito, Teruteru and Kettei were indeed the culprits! Oh wait, you weren't all correct. Teruteru didn't vote for himself, even though both Nagito and Kettei did!"
"You… stuck to your words." Koizumi said.
"Of course I did. Although I think Nagito had some different reasons." Tsuki said.
"Aha! I can't even begin to imagine the amount of hope that will power through our deaths!" Nagito said…
Trial Recess!
Recess was called… meaning it was time. Three hooks from the darkness of the room came flying out and grabbed the necks of Nagito, Tsuki and Hanamura. All three of them were dragged away into the distance, leaving behind only the screams from Hanamura, the maniacal laugh of Nagito and the determined look from Tsuki. This… wasn't fair at all!
I look up at the monitor, it looked like Monokuma had prepared a large amount of coal on the floor. The room was mostly empty otherwise, apart from the metal bar that hung horizontally from the ceiling. Then… oh god. The three 'culprits' Tsuki, Nagito and Hanamura hung from the bar with their arms. Monokuma then approached the coal, he picked to of the up and struck them together, leading to a roaring fire spread throughout the room. If anyone let go of the bar, not only would they fall a large distance, but they would be trapped in the fire until they burned to death. All three of them hung there for their life.
"You wanna save them?" Monokuma asked. "Well then you best figure out who the mastermind behind this murder is otherwise their going to cook to death if you take too long! Guaaaaaaaahahahahaha!"
I did say I would spice things up a bit, hope you like it. Reviews are always appreciated and help me work quicker. :)
